Mobile vocal recording studio

Sometimes the production schedule is so tight that vocals need to be recorded on the road. My vocal recording equipment can be fitted in three briefcases and one laptop backpack. Can’t really walk around with all these devices, but they go nicely into the trunk of a car.

Routing

All these are connected to a MacBook Pro, running Ableton Live. I record vocals first in the session view and copy the best takes to the arrangement view for fine tuning. I record with all the effects on, because it gives me a better idea of the final dynamics of the vocals, and gives me more accurate feedback while singing.

Sometimes I sing with just one headphone on, but most of the time I have both cans on. It really depends on the kind of part I’m singing.

I use the headphone amp because the sound card doesn’t provide enough volume for accurate monitoring. It really makes a big difference, when you can hear precisely what you’re singing. Many sound cards lack the volume needed for vocal recording. Before I had a headphone amplifier, I used to arm two tracks for recording – one for recording and one just for monitoring. But I found this cumbersome, and I’m much more pleased with the current headphone amplifier setup. It’s not an expensive device, but it’s still one of my most precious ones.

Okay okay! I didn't #vlog for a while, but then again I didn't have this big news for a while. We're going to shoot a video at a #particleaccelerator #laboratory - how cool is that??
https://t.co/hpqFnT3u4X